Method and apparatus for presenting media programs

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a system having a controller to collect one or more temporal actions initiated by each of a plurality of users while presenting a media program to said plurality of users, generate one or more symbolic overlays according to the one or more temporal actions collected for each user, and combine the presentation of the media program with a presentation of the one or more symbolic overlays. Other embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to media presentationtechniques and more specifically to a method and apparatus forpresenting media programs.

BACKGROUND

Consumers have a number of venues to access media content. For example,consumers can view video content supplied by social networking portalssuch as MySpace, FaceBook, and YouTube over an Internet browser.Similarly, consumers can view via a set-top box video content suppliedby an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) communication system, asatellite TV communication system, and/or a cable TV communicationsystem. Other forms of media content such as audio content, pictures,articles, or combinations thereof can also be accessed by consumers overa public network such as the Internet.

Consumers can share with others their thoughts about media content theyhave consumed by word of mouth, text messaging (e.g., email), or otherforms of common communication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-6 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services;

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative method operating in portions of thecommunication systems of FIGS. 1-6;

FIGS. 8-30 depict illustrative embodiments of the method of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 31 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment of the present disclosure entails a method involvingpresenting each of a plurality of users a media program, collecting oneor more temporal actions initiated by the plurality of users while themedia program is presented, creating one or more symbolic overlayscorresponding to the one or more temporal actions of each user,combining the presentation of the media program with a presentation ofthe one or more symbolic overlays.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure entails a system having acontroller to collect one or more temporal actions initiated by each ofa plurality of users while presenting a media program to said pluralityof users, generate one or more symbolic overlays according to the one ormore temporal actions collected for each user, and combine thepresentation of the media program with a presentation of the one or moresymbolic overlays.

Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure entails acomputer-readable storage medium having computer instructions forcombining a presentation of a media program with a presentation of oneor more symbolic overlays generated from one or more temporal actionscollected from a plurality of users while presenting the media programto said plurality of users.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 100 for delivering media content. The communication system 100can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) broadcast mediasystem. In a typical IPTV infrastructure, there is a super head-endoffice (SHO) with at least one super headend office server (SHS) whichreceives national media programs from satellite and/or media serversfrom service providers of multimedia broadcast channels. In the presentcontext, media programs can represent audio content, moving imagecontent such as videos, still image content, and/or combinationsthereof. The SHS server forwards IP packets associated with the mediacontent to video head-end servers (VHS) via a network of aggregationpoints such as video head-end offices (VHO) according to a commonmulticast communication method.

The VHS then distributes multimedia broadcast programs via a local areanetwork (LAN) to commercial and/or residential buildings 102 housing agateway 104 (e.g., a residential gateway or RG). The LAN can represent abank of digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs) located ina central office or a service area interface that provide broadbandservices over optical links or copper twisted pairs to buildings 102.The gateway 104 distributes broadcast signals to media processors 106such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn present broadcast selectionsto media devices 108 such as computers or television sets managed insome instances by a media controller 107 (e.g., an infrared or RF remotecontrol). Unicast traffic can also be exchanged between the mediaprocessors 106 and subsystems of the IPTV media system for services suchas video-on-demand (VoD). It will be appreciated by one of ordinaryskill in the art that the media devices 108 and/or portablecommunication devices 116 shown in FIG. 1 can be an integral part of themedia processor 106 and can be communicatively coupled to the gateway104. In this particular embodiment, an integral device such as describedcan receive, respond, process and present multicast or unicast mediacontent.

The IPTV media system can be coupled to one or more computing devices130 a portion of which can operate as a web server for providing portalservices over an Internet Service Provider (ISP) network 132 to fixedline media devices 108 or portable communication devices 116 by way of awireless access point 117 providing Wireless Fidelity or WiFi services,or cellular communication services (e.g., GSM, CDMA, UMTS, WiMAX, etc.).In this representative embodiment the computing devices 130 can operateas a proxy system (referred to herein as proxy system 130) for providingportal or like services to a community of subscribers according to themethod 700 of FIG. 7, as will be discussed below.

A satellite broadcast television system can be used in place of the IPTVmedia system. In this embodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 115can be intercepted by a satellite dish receiver 131 coupled to building102 which conveys media signals to the media processors 106. The mediareceivers 106 can be equipped with a broadband port to the ISP network132. Although not shown, the communication system 100 can also becombined or replaced with analog or digital broadcast distributionssystems such as cable TV systems.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a second communicationsystem 200 for delivering media content. Communication system 200 can beoverlaid or operably coupled with communication system 100 as anotherrepresentative embodiment of said communication system. The system 200includes a distribution switch/router system 228 at a central office218. The distribution switch/router system 228 receives video data via amulticast television stream 230 from a second distribution switch/router234 at an intermediate office 220. The multicast television stream 230includes Internet Protocol (IP) data packets addressed to a multicast IPaddress associated with a television channel. The distributionswitch/router system 228 can cache data associated with each televisionchannel received from the intermediate office 220.

The distribution switch/router system 228 also receives unicast datatraffic from the intermediate office 220 via a unicast traffic stream232. The unicast traffic stream 232 includes data packets related todevices located at a particular residence, such as the residence 202.For example, the unicast traffic stream 232 can include data trafficrelated to a digital subscriber line, a telephone line, another dataconnection, or any combination thereof. To illustrate, the unicasttraffic stream 232 can communicate data packets to and from a telephone212 associated with a subscriber at the residence 202. The telephone 212can be a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone. To furtherillustrate, the unicast traffic stream 232 can communicate data packetsto and from a personal computer 210 at the residence 202 via one or moredata routers 208. In an additional illustration, the unicast trafficstream 232 can communicate data packets to and from a set-top boxdevice, such as the set-top box devices 204, 206. The unicast trafficstream 232 can communicate data packets to and from the devices locatedat the residence 202 via one or more residential gateways 214 associatedwith the residence 202.

The distribution switch/router system 228 can send data to one or moreaccess switch/router systems 226. The access switch/router system 226can include or be included within a service area interface 216. In aparticular embodiment, the access switch/router system 226 can include aDSLAM. The access switch/router system 226 can receive data from thedistribution switch/router system 228 via a broadcast television (BTV)stream 222 and a plurality of unicast subscriber traffic streams 224.The BTV stream 222 can be used to communicate video data packetsassociated with a multicast stream.

For example, the BTV stream 222 can include a multicast virtual localarea network (VLAN) connection between the distribution switch/routersystem 228 and the access switch/router system 226. Each of theplurality of subscriber traffic streams 224 can be used to communicatesubscriber specific data packets. For example, the first subscribertraffic stream can communicate data related to a first subscriber, andthe nth subscriber traffic stream can communicate data related to an nthsubscriber. Each subscriber to the system 200 can be associated with arespective subscriber traffic stream 224. The subscriber traffic stream224 can include a subscriber VLAN connection between the distributionswitch/router system 228 and the access switch/router system 226 that isassociated with a particular set-top box device 204, 206, a particularresidence 202, a particular residential gateway 214, another deviceassociated with a subscriber, or any combination thereof.

In an illustrative embodiment, a set-top box device, such as the set-topbox device 204, receives a channel change command from an input device,such as a remoter control device. The channel change command canindicate selection of an IPTV channel. After receiving the channelchange command, the set-top box device 204 generates channel selectiondata that indicates the selection of the IPTV channel. The set-top boxdevice 204 can send the channel selection data to the accessswitch/router system 226 via the residential gateway 214. The channelselection data can include an Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP)Join request. In an illustrative embodiment, the access switch/routersystem 226 can identify whether it is joined to a multicast groupassociated with the requested channel based on information in the IGMPJoin request.

If the access switch/router system 226 is not joined to the multicastgroup associated with the requested channel, the access switch/routersystem 226 can generate a multicast stream request. The multicast streamrequest can be generated by modifying the received channel selectiondata. In an illustrative embodiment, the access switch/router system 226can modify an IGMP Join request to produce a proxy IGMP Join request.The access switch/router system 226 can send the multicast streamrequest to the distribution switch/router system 228 via the BTV stream222. In response to receiving the multicast stream request, thedistribution switch/router system 228 can send a stream associated withthe requested channel to the access switch/router system 226 via the BTVstream 222.

The proxy system 130 of FIG. 1 can be operably coupled to the secondcommunication system 200 for purposes similar to those described above.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a third communicationsystem 300 for delivering media content. Communication system 300 can beoverlaid or operably coupled with communication systems 100-200 asanother representative embodiment of said communication systems. Asshown, the system 300 can include a client facing tier 302, anapplication tier 304, an acquisition tier 306, and an operations andmanagement tier 308. Each tier 302, 304, 306, 308 is coupled to aprivate network 310, such as a network of common packet-switched routersand/or switches; to a public network 312, such as the Internet; or toboth the private network 310 and the public network 312. For example,the client-facing tier 302 can be coupled to the private network 310.Further, the application tier 304 can be coupled to the private network310 and to the public network 312. The acquisition tier 306 can also becoupled to the private network 310 and to the public network 312.Additionally, the operations and management tier 308 can be coupled tothe public network 312.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the various tiers 302, 304, 306, 308communicate with each other via the private network 310 and the publicnetwork 312. For instance, the client-facing tier 302 can communicatewith the application tier 304 and the acquisition tier 306 via theprivate network 310. The application tier 304 can communicate with theacquisition tier 306 via the private network 310. Further, theapplication tier 304 can communicate with the acquisition tier 306 andthe operations and management tier 308 via the public network 312.Moreover, the acquisition tier 306 can communicate with the operationsand management tier 308 via the public network 312. In a particularembodiment, elements of the application tier 304, including, but notlimited to, a client gateway 350, can communicate directly with theclient-facing tier 302.

The client-facing tier 302 can communicate with user equipment via anaccess network 366, such as an IPTV access network. In an illustrativeembodiment, customer premises equipment (CPE) 314, 322 can be coupled toa local switch, router, or other device of the access network 366. Theclient-facing tier 302 can communicate with a first representativeset-top box device 316 via the first CPE 314 and with a secondrepresentative set-top box device 324 via the second CPE 322. In aparticular embodiment, the first representative set-top box device 316and the first CPE 314 can be located at a first customer premise, andthe second representative set-top box device 324 and the second CPE 322can be located at a second customer premise.

In another particular embodiment, the first representative set-top boxdevice 316 and the second representative set-top box device 324 can belocated at a single customer premise, both coupled to one of the CPE314, 322. The CPE 314, 322 can include routers, local area networkdevices, modems, such as digital subscriber line (DSL) modems, any othersuitable devices for facilitating communication between a set-top boxdevice and the access network 366, or any combination thereof.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 302 can be coupledto the CPE 314, 322 via fiber optic cables. In another illustrativeembodiment, the CPE 314, 322 can include DSL modems that are coupled toone or more network nodes via twisted pairs, and the client-facing tier302 can be coupled to the network nodes via fiber-optic cables. Eachset-top box device 316, 324 can process data received via the accessnetwork 366, via a common IPTV software platform.

The first set-top box device 316 can be coupled to a first externaldisplay device, such as a first television monitor 318, and the secondset-top box device 324 can be coupled to a second external displaydevice, such as a second television monitor 326. Moreover, the firstset-top box device 316 can communicate with a first remote control 320,and the second set-top box device 324 can communicate with a secondremote control 328. The set-top box devices 316, 324 can include IPTVset-top box devices; video gaming devices or consoles that are adaptedto receive IPTV content; personal computers or other computing devicesthat are adapted to emulate set-top box device functionalities; anyother device adapted to receive IPTV content and transmit data to anIPTV system via an access network; or any combination thereof.

In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, each set-top box device316, 324 can receive data, video, or any combination thereof, from theclient-facing tier 302 via the access network 366 and render or displaythe data, video, or any combination thereof, at the display device 318,326 to which it is coupled. In an illustrative embodiment, the set-topbox devices 316, 324 can include tuners that receive and decodetelevision programming signals or packet streams for transmission to thedisplay devices 318, 326. Further, the set-top box devices 316, 324 caneach include a STB processor 370 and a STB memory device 372 that isaccessible to the STB processor 370. In one embodiment, a computerprogram, such as the STB computer program 374, can be embedded withinthe STB memory device 372.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 302 can include aclient-facing tier (CFT) switch 330 that manages communication betweenthe client-facing tier 302 and the access network 366 and between theclient-facing tier 302 and the private network 310. As illustrated, theCFT switch 330 is coupled to one or more distribution servers, such asDistribution-servers (D-servers) 332, that store, format, encode,replicate, or otherwise manipulate or prepare video content forcommunication from the client-facing tier 302 to the set-top box devices316, 324. The CFT switch 330 can also be coupled to a terminal server334 that provides terminal devices with a point of connection to theIPTV system 300 via the client-facing tier 302.

In a particular embodiment, the CFT switch 330 can be coupled to a VoDserver 336 that stores or provides VoD content imported by the IPTVsystem 300. Further, the CFT switch 330 is coupled to one or more videoservers 380 that receive video content and transmit the content to theset-top boxes 316, 324 via the access network 366. The client-facingtier 302 may include a CPE management server 382 that managescommunications to and from the CPE 314 and the CPE 322. For example, theCPE management server 382 may collect performance data associated withthe set-top box devices 316, 324 from the CPE 314 or the CPE 322 andforward the collected performance data to a server associated with theoperations and management tier 308.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 302 cancommunicate with a large number of set-top boxes, such as therepresentative set-top boxes 316, 324, over a wide geographic area, suchas a metropolitan area, a viewing area, a statewide area, a regionalarea, a nationwide area or any other suitable geographic area, marketarea, or subscriber or customer group that can be supported bynetworking the client-facing tier 302 to numerous set-top box devices.In a particular embodiment, the CFT switch 330, or any portion thereof,can include a multicast router or switch that communicates with multipleset-top box devices via a multicast-enabled network.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the application tier 304 can communicate withboth the private network 310 and the public network 312. The applicationtier 304 can include a first application tier (APP) switch 338 and asecond APP switch 340. In a particular embodiment, the first APP switch338 can be coupled to the second APP switch 340. The first APP switch338 can be coupled to an application server 342 and to an OSS/BSSgateway 344. In a particular embodiment, the application server 342 canprovide applications to the set-top box devices 316, 324 via the accessnetwork 366, which enable the set-top box devices 316, 324 to providefunctions, such as interactive program guides, video gaming, display,messaging, processing of VoD material and other IPTV content, etc. In anillustrative embodiment, the application server 342 can provide locationinformation to the set-top box devices 316, 324. In a particularembodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 344 includes operation systems andsupport (OSS) data, as well as billing systems and support (BSS) data.In one embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 344 can provide or restrictaccess to an OSS/BSS server 364 that stores operations and billingsystems data.

The second APP switch 340 can be coupled to a domain controller 346 thatprovides Internet access, for example, to users at their computers 368via the public network 312. For example, the domain controller 346 canprovide remote Internet access to IPTV account information, e-mail,personalized Internet services, or other online services via the publicnetwork 312. In addition, the second APP switch 340 can be coupled to asubscriber and system store 348 that includes account information, suchas account information that is associated with users who access the IPTVsystem 300 via the private network 310 or the public network 312. In anillustrative embodiment, the subscriber and system store 348 can storesubscriber or customer data and create subscriber or customer profilesthat are associated with IP addresses, stock-keeping unit (SKU) numbers,other identifiers, or any combination thereof, of corresponding set-topbox devices 316, 324. In another illustrative embodiment, the subscriberand system store can store data associated with capabilities of set-topbox devices associated with particular customers.

In a particular embodiment, the application tier 304 can include aclient gateway 350 that communicates data directly to the client-facingtier 302. In this embodiment, the client gateway 350 can be coupleddirectly to the CFT switch 330. The client gateway 350 can provide useraccess to the private network 310 and the tiers coupled thereto. In anillustrative embodiment, the set-top box devices 316, 324 can access theIPTV system 300 via the access network 366, using information receivedfrom the client gateway 350. User devices can access the client gateway350 via the access network 366, and the client gateway 350 can allowsuch devices to access the private network 310 once the devices areauthenticated or verified. Similarly, the client gateway 350 can preventunauthorized devices, such as hacker computers or stolen set-top boxdevices from accessing the private network 310, by denying access tothese devices beyond the access network 366.

For example, when the first representative set-top box device 316accesses the client-facing tier 302 via the access network 366, theclient gateway 350 can verify subscriber information by communicatingwith the subscriber and system store 348 via the private network 310.Further, the client gateway 350 can verify billing information andstatus by communicating with the OSS/BSS gateway 344 via the privatenetwork 310. In one embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 344 can transmit aquery via the public network 312 to the OSS/BSS server 364. After theclient gateway 350 confirms subscriber and/or billing information, theclient gateway 350 can allow the set-top box device 316 to access IPTVcontent and VoD content at the client-facing tier 302. If the clientgateway 350 cannot verify subscriber information for the set-top boxdevice 316, e.g., because it is connected to an unauthorized twistedpair, the client gateway 350 can block transmissions to and from theset-top box device 316 beyond the access network 366.

As indicated in FIG. 3, the acquisition tier 306 includes an acquisitiontier (AQT) switch 352 that communicates with the private network 310.The AQT switch 352 can also communicate with the operations andmanagement tier 308 via the public network 312. In a particularembodiment, the AQT switch 352 can be coupled to one or more liveAcquisition-servers (A-servers) 354 that receive or acquire televisioncontent, movie content, advertisement content, other video content, orany combination thereof, from a broadcast service 356, such as asatellite acquisition system or satellite head-end office. In aparticular embodiment, the live acquisition server 354 can transmitcontent to the AQT switch 352, and the AQT switch 352 can transmit thecontent to the CFT switch 330 via the private network 310.

In an illustrative embodiment, content can be transmitted to theD-servers 332, where it can be encoded, formatted, stored, replicated,or otherwise manipulated and prepared for communication from the videoserver(s) 380 to the set-top box devices 316, 324. The CFT switch 330can receive content from the video server(s) 380 and communicate thecontent to the CPE 314, 322 via the access network 366. The set-top boxdevices 316, 324 can receive the content via the CPE 314, 322, and cantransmit the content to the television monitors 318, 326. In anillustrative embodiment, video or audio portions of the content can bestreamed to the set-top box devices 316, 324.

Further, the AQT switch 352 can be coupled to a video-on-demand importerserver 358 that receives and stores television or movie content receivedat the acquisition tier 306 and communicates the stored content to theVoD server 336 at the client-facing tier 302 via the private network310. Additionally, at the acquisition tier 306, the VoD importer server358 can receive content from one or more VoD sources outside the IPTVsystem 300, such as movie studios and programmers of non-live content.The VoD importer server 358 can transmit the VoD content to the AQTswitch 352, and the AQT switch 352, in turn, can communicate thematerial to the CFT switch 330 via the private network 310. The VoDcontent can be stored at one or more servers, such as the VoD server336.

When users issue requests for VoD content via the set-top box devices316, 324, the requests can be transmitted over the access network 366 tothe VoD server 336, via the CFT switch 330. Upon receiving suchrequests, the VoD server 336 can retrieve the requested VoD content andtransmit the content to the set-top box devices 316, 324 across theaccess network 366, via the CFT switch 330. The set-top box devices 316,324 can transmit the VoD content to the television monitors 318, 326. Inan illustrative embodiment, video or audio portions of VoD content canbe streamed to the set-top box devices 316, 324.

FIG. 3 further illustrates that the operations and management tier 308can include an operations and management tier (OMT) switch 360 thatconducts communication between the operations and management tier 308and the public network 312. In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 3, theOMT switch 360 is coupled to a TV2 server 362. Additionally, the OMTswitch 360 can be coupled to an OSS/BSS server 364 and to a simplenetwork management protocol monitor 386 that monitors network deviceswithin or coupled to the IPTV system 300. In a particular embodiment,the OMT switch 360 can communicate with the AQT switch 352 via thepublic network 312.

The OSS/BSS server 364 may include a cluster of servers, such as one ormore CPE data collection servers that are adapted to request and storeoperations systems data, such as performance data from the set-top boxdevices 316, 324. In an illustrative embodiment, the CPE data collectionservers may be adapted to analyze performance data to identify acondition of a physical component of a network path associated with aset-top box device, to predict a condition of a physical component of anetwork path associated with a set-top box device, or any combinationthereof.

In an illustrative embodiment, the live acquisition server 354 cantransmit content to the AQT switch 352, and the AQT switch 352, in turn,can transmit the content to the OMT switch 360 via the public network312. In this embodiment, the OMT switch 360 can transmit the content tothe TV2 server 362 for display to users accessing the user interface atthe TV2 server 362. For example, a user can access the TV2 server 362using a personal computer 368 coupled to the public network 312.

The proxy system 130 of FIGS. 1-2 can be operably coupled to the thirdcommunication system 300 for purposes similar to those described above.

It should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from theforegoing media communication system embodiments that other suitablemedia communication systems for distributing broadcast media content aswell as peer-to-peer exchange of content can be applied to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 400employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture.Communication system 400 can be overlaid or operably coupled withcommunication systems 100-300 as another representative embodiment ofsaid communication systems.

The communication system 400 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)440, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 430, and network elementsof an IMS network 450. The IMS network 450 can be coupled to IMScompliant communication devices (CD) 401, 402 or a Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN) CD 403 using a Media Gateway Control Function(MGCF) 420 that connects the call through a common PSTN network 460.

IMS CDs 401, 402 register with the IMS network 450 by contacting a ProxyCall Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with acorresponding Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with anAuthentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) supported by the HSS440. To accomplish a communication session between CDs, an originatingIMS CD 401 can submit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) messageto an originating P-CSCF 404 which communicates with a correspondingoriginating S-CSCF 406. The originating S-CSCF 406 can submit the SIPINVITE message to an application server (AS) such as reference 410 thatcan provide a variety of services to IMS subscribers. For example, theapplication server 410 can be used to perform originating treatmentfunctions on the calling party number received by the originating S-CSCF406 in the SIP INVITE message.

Originating treatment functions can include determining whether thecalling party number has international calling services, and/or isrequesting special telephony features (e.g., *72 forward calls, *73cancel call forwarding, *67 for caller ID blocking, and so on).Additionally, the originating S-CSCF 406 can submit queries to the ENUMsystem 430 to translate an E.164 telephone number to a SIP UniformResource Identifier (URI) if the targeted communication device is IMScompliant. If the targeted communication device is a PSTN device, theENUM system 430 will respond with an unsuccessful address resolution andthe S-CSCF 406 will forward the call to the MGCF 420 via a BreakoutGateway Control Function (BGCF) 419.

When the ENUM server 430 returns a SIP URI, the SIP URI is used by anInterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 407 to submit a query to the HSS 440 toidentify a terminating S-CSCF 414 associated with a terminating IMS CDsuch as reference 402. Once identified, the I-CSCF 407 can submit theSIP INVITE to the terminating S-CSCF 414 which can call on anapplication server 411 similar to reference 410 to perform theoriginating treatment telephony functions described earlier. Theterminating S-CSCF 414 can then identify a terminating P-CSCF 416associated with the terminating CD 402. The P-CSCF 416 then signals theCD 402 to establish communications. The aforementioned process issymmetrical. Accordingly, the terms “originating” and “terminating” inFIG. 4 can be interchanged.

IMS network 450 can also be operably coupled to the proxy system 130 ofFIG. 1. In this representative embodiment, the proxy system 130 can beaccessed over a PSTN or VoIP channel of communication system 400 bycommon techniques such as described above.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 500for distributing media content and for collaboratively experiencingmedia programs distributed by subsystems 502-510. The communicationsystem 500 can comprise one or more social network portals 502 (e.g.,YouTube™, FaceBook™, MySpace™, etc.), an IPTV media system 504, asatellite TV media system 506, and/or a cable TV media system 508. Mediasystems 504-506 can be similar to those described above with thecapability of sharing media content over a common ISP network 501.Computing device 510 can represent a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, or similar computing device also capable of sharing mediacontent with Internet browsing capability for communicating with theproxy system 130.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal 630. The portal630 can be used for managing services of communication systems 100-600as well as for collaboratively experiencing media programs distributedby said communication systems. The portal 630 can be accessed by aUniform Resource Locator (URL) with a common Internet browser such asMicrosoft's Internet Explorer using an Internet-capable communicationdevice such as references 108, 116, or 210 of FIGS. 1-2. The portal 630can be configured to access a media processor such as references 106,204, 206, 316, and 324 of FIGS. 1-3 and services managed thereby such asa Digital Video Recorder (DVR), an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG),VoD catalog, a personal catalog stored in the STB (e.g., personalvideos, pictures, audio recordings, etc.), collaborative mediacommunications as depicted by method 700 of FIG. 7, and so on.

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative method 700 operating in portions ofcommunication systems 100-600. FIGS. 8-30 depict illustrativeembodiments of method 700. Method 700 begins with step 702 in which asubscriber logs into a portal such as depicted in FIG. 6 (or a proxysystem exclusively configured for collaborative media communications).FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative graphic user interface (GUI) for logginginto the portal. The login process can take place once a user becomes asubscriber of the portal using a common registration process.

Once the subscriber has logged into the portal, the portal presents thesubscriber a collaborative GUI screen with selectable icons such asshown in FIG. 9. At this stage, the subscriber can select in step 704 abuddy list icon 902 to determine which buddy or buddies are activelyengaged in the presentation of media content. Media content in thepresent context can represent audio content (e.g., music), still imagecontent (e.g., pictures), moving image (e.g., video), or combinationsthereof. For illustrative purposes only, media content referred to bymethod 700 will represent video content.

In step 706, the portal presents a GUI such as shown in FIG. 10 thatdepicts which buddies are actively engaged in a presentation of videocontent. In this illustration, there are two buddies (Brian and Lstead)depicted in section 1002. Each buddy is viewing different video programs(Planet Earth, and Survivorman) depicted in section 1004. The GUI alsoshows how much time has lapsed since the video program was initiated byeach buddy as depicted in section 1006. Assume that in step 708 theportal detects that the subscriber has selected what Brian is viewing.Responsive to this selection, the portal presents the subscriber in step710 the media program from the point at which the Brian is viewing theprogram, thereby synchronizing the viewings of the subscriber and Brianas depicted in FIG. 11.

The GUI of FIG. 11 shows the media program overlaid with a virtualaudience of avatars (actual pictures of the subscribers could have beenused in lieu of the avatars, if available). In step 712, the subscribercan invoke a temporal action such as a buddy to buddy messaging sequenceby selecting any portion of the media program canvas with a mousepointer 1102. The subscriber can then begin to type a message on screensuch as shown in FIG. 12 depicted by reference 1202. Once the message iscomplete, the subscriber can submit the message by selecting the enterbutton on his/her keyboard, which invokes a call out symbol 1302positioned near the avatar of the subscriber initiating the message asshown in FIG. 13. This comment is also recorded in a show timeline 1401with previous commentaries by an iconic comment symbol as depicted byreferences 1402-1408 of FIG. 14. If the subscriber selects one of theseiconic comment symbols, the portal then presents an asynchronouspresentation of the media program from the temporal location at whichthe temporal action took place depicting the call out at said temporallocation. When this occurs, the subscriber is no longer viewing themedia program synchronously with the other buddies.

At step 714, the subscriber (and/or buddies) can invoke expressionsand/or gestures of their respective avatars. This can be accomplished byselecting an icon 1501 which presents an expression and gesture list1502-1504. The subscriber can alternatively enter a character sequencerepresentative of the expression or gesture (e.g., :) which representsan expression of a smile). In this illustration, there are twoselectable gestures 1502, and nine selectable expressions 1504. Thegestures can be a thumbs up (representing approval) and thumbs down(representing disapproval) of the media program at the temporal locationwhere the gesture is selected. The selectable expressions can includeexpressions of laughter, happiness, winking, drooling, confusion, huh?,sadness, shock, or anger. Other suitable gestures or expressions can beapplied to the present disclosure without departure from the scope ofthe claims listed below. In this illustration, the expression ofhappiness has been selected for the avatar of Mukesh as shown in FIG. 16by reference 1604.

As before, temporal actions such as expressions can be recorded on theshow time bar and can be depicted as selectable star symbols 1602. Whena star symbol is selected, the subscriber is taken to the point in thepresentation where the expression was made by the avatar of the buddyinitiating the expression. When such a selection is made, thepresentation of the media program becomes asynchronous to the subscriberrelative to the other buddies. FIG. 17, shows the selection of a thumbsup gesture 1702. Responsive to selecting this gesture, the portalpresents a selectable thumbs up icon 1802 on the show time line, and theavatar of Mukesh 1804 also shows a thumbs up gesture. When a thumbs upicon is selected by any of the participants viewing the media program,the portal generates for the viewer initiating the selection anasynchronous presentation of the media program at a time when thegesture was made.

In step 718, the subscriber can choose to change buddies whilesynchronously viewing the media program with other buddies. This stepcan be represented by FIGS. 19-21. In FIG. 19 there are three buddies1904-1908 (Brian, Mukesh, Lstead, respectively) initially viewing themedia program. The subscriber can select the buddy icon 1902, whichinvokes in FIG. 20 a sub-GUI list 2002 identifying all the buddies whocan be joined or removed from viewing the media program in question.Buddies with a checkmark remain in the virtual audience while buddieswithout a checkmark are removed from the virtual audience. Hence, byselecting and deselecting the buddies a new virtual audience can becreated as shown in FIG. 21. In this illustration, the avatar for Brian(reference 1904) has been removed, and a new avatar 2102 (forsubscriber: Alicia Abella) has been added to the virtual audience.

One or more of the foregoing steps of method 700 can generatecorresponding temporal actions (comments, gestures, expressions, etc.)recorded by the portal in step 720 for viewing by buddies activelyengaged in a synchronous viewing of the media program, and for buddiesthat asynchronous view the media program at subsequent times. Thetemporal actions can be recorded as metadata by the portal. The portalutilizes the metadata to create one or more symbolic overlays (e.g.,virtual audience, show timeline, comment icons, call outs, gestures,expressions, etc.) which can be combined with the presentation of themedia program without altering the original format of the media program.Over the course of one or more synchronous and/or asynchronous viewingsof a media program by a plurality of subscribers, the portal can recordmetadata associated with temporal actions of each participant viewingthe media program, and can combine metadata files recorded for eachsubscriber into an aggregate metadata archive that can be used to createa collective virtual collaborative experience.

Referring back to step 708, suppose that instead of the subscriberselecting the buddy icon symbol 902 in FIG. 9, the subscriber selectsthe show guide icon symbol 904. In this instance, the subscriber wouldbe presented in step 722 a show guide as shown in FIG. 23. The showguide can also be invoked at any instance of the GUI presentations ofsteps 710-720. For instance, the subscriber can select the show guide2202 after starting a synchronous session with other buddies asdemonstrated by FIG. 22. The show guide as depicted in FIG. 23, can bepresented in three illustrative embodiments. A guide depicted by tab2302 organizes media programs by genre, series, and episode with ratings(number of thumbs up/down entered by others, and number of commentariesmade). In another illustrative embodiment, the subscriber can selectanother tab 2402, designated as Popular(All), which as depicted in FIG.24 organizes a presentation of media programs by number of viewings(highest number of viewings is presented first). In yet anotherillustrative embodiment, the subscriber can select yet another tab 2502,designated as Popular(Buddies), which as depicted in FIG. 25 organizes apresentation of the most popular media programs by subscriber.

From any of these embodiments of the show guide, the subscriber canselect in step 724 a media program of interest. The portal then presentsin step 726 the selected media program asynchronously from otherprevious viewers. Suppose for example that the subscriber selects themedia program, “Shoes”, depicted by reference 2504 from Brian's popularlist as shown in FIG. 25. From this selection, the portal presents instep 726 the “Shoes” media program in FIG. 26 highlighting in step 728prerecorded expressions, commentary callouts, and comment and expressionicons on the show timeline. The subscriber can view the selected mediaprogram and experience the temporal actions of others who previouslyviewed the program. The subscriber can also add in step 730 his/her owntemporal actions if desired for subsequent viewers to experience.

In sum, method 700 can be utilized by any system to collect synchronousand asynchronous temporal actions of a user experiencing a particularprogram without necessitating a synchronous experience of allparticipants. Method 700 thus provides a convenient means to collaborateexperiences between users over the course of one or more presentationsof a media program.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, method 700 can beadapted so that an experience graph 2701 such as shown in FIG. 27 can beoverlaid on a media program to assist each viewer in identifying thesections of the media program where most temporal actions have takenplace (see reference 2702) and where the viewer's own temporal actionshave taken place (see reference 2704).

In another embodiment, method 700 can be adapted so that a subscribercan rate media programs by a star (or other symbolic) rating system (seereference 2802 of FIG. 28). Subscriber ratings can be recorded by theportal and averaged between subscribers experiencing the same mediaprogram. The ratings can be presented by the portal in the show guide.In yet another embodiment, method 700 can be applied to a social networkportal such as YouTube as shown illustratively in FIG. 29. In thisembodiment, the social network portal can utilize the steps described inmethod 700 to enhance the social networking experience with symbolicoverlays defined by a collective metadata archive of temporal actions ofviewers to create a collaborative experience between them.

In another embodiment, method 700 can be adapted so that experiencegraphs can be used to compact media programs as shown in FIG. 30. Inthis illustration a histogram of occurrences of temporal actions of aplurality of viewers of a media program can be compared to a thresholdestablished by a subscriber desiring to identify the most popularsections of a media program based on the temporal actions recorded for aplurality of viewers. If the occurrences of temporal actions exceed thethreshold, the portal identifies corresponding sections of the mediaprogram with metadata. With this metadata, the portal can present asubscriber a compacted presentation of the most popular sections of themedia program.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, method 700 can be adapted sothat a content provider of a media program can establish one or moresymbolic overlay conditions. These conditions can be incorporated asmetadata in the media program. Accordingly, the portal can be directedto follow the symbolic overlay conditions as directed by the contentprovider. Symbolic overlay conditions can define a symbolic overlaydesign, and/or a policy to manage the presentation of temporal actionsinitiated by the subscribers viewing the media program. The symbolicoverlay design can represent a symbolic overlay supplied by the contentprovider, which for example can be defined according to an extensiblemarkup language (or XML). The content provider can thus define what thelook and feel of a symbolic overlay can be. For example, avatars mayhave a particular look and feel, the background setting can bethematically selected by the content provider, and so on. Similarly, thepolicy can define as well as limit the temporal actions available toeach subscriber. For example, the content provider can define newgestures (e.g., both hands raised as a Hooray! gesture), and/or newexpressions (e.g., face turned 180 with the avatars tongue out). Thecontent provider can remove some expressions such as drooling.

In yet another embodiment, method 700 can be adapted so that the portalcan detect a pattern of behavior of a subscriber according to the one ormore temporal actions. From the detected pattern, the portal create abehavioral profile of the subscriber which the service provider of theportal can utilize to tailor the subscriber's interest, among otherpossible applications.

It is further noted that method 700 can be applied to any form of mediacontent including without limitation audio content, still image content,moving image content, or combinations thereof. Method 700 can also beapplied in any suitable setting such as for example a training session,an academic lecture where students interchange thoughts, inquiries,commentaries, or other applicable settings.

Other suitable modifications can be applied to the present disclosurewithout departing from the scope of the claims below. Accordingly, thereader is directed to the claims section for a fuller understanding ofthe breadth and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 31 depicts an illustrative diagrammatic representation of a machinein the form of a computer system 3100 within which a set ofinstructions, when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one ormore of the methodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device. In some embodiments, themachine may be connected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of aserver or a client user machine in server-client user networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 3100 may include a processor 3102 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 3104 and a static memory 3106, which communicate with each othervia a bus 3108. The computer system 3100 may further include a videodisplay unit 3110 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system3100 may include an input device 3112 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursorcontrol device 3114 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 3116, a signalgeneration device 3118 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a networkinterface device 3120.

The disk drive unit 3116 may include a machine-readable medium 3122 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 3124)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 3124may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 3104, the static memory 3106, and/or within the processor 3102during execution thereof by the computer system 3100. The main memory3104 and the processor 3102 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 3124, or that which receives and executes instructions 3124from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 3126 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 3126 using the instructions 3124. Theinstructions 3124 may further be transmitted or received over a network3126 via the network interface device 3120.

While the machine-readable medium 3122 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape; andcarrier wave signals such as a signal embodying computer instructions ina transmission medium; and/or a digital file attachment to e-mail orother self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one ormore of a machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listedherein and including art-recognized equivalents and successor media, inwhich the software implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: identifying, by a systemcomprising a processor, a media program being presented at a firstdisplay device; receiving, by the system, a request from a seconddisplay device to establish synchronous presentation of the mediaprogram being presented at the first display device; synchronouslypresenting, by the system, the media program at the first display deviceand the second display device of a plurality of users; recording, by thesystem, a plurality of temporal actions initiated by equipment of the Iplurality of users while the media program is presented; preparing, bythe system, a graphical representation of occurrences of the pluralityof temporal actions recorded during respective portions of the mediaprogram; receiving, by the system, from equipment of a user of theplurality of users, a selectable threshold number of occurrences of theplurality of temporal actions indicating popular portions of the mediaprogram; identifying, by the system, the respective popular portions ofthe media program with metadata for which the number of occurrences ofthe plurality of temporal actions exceeds the selectable thresholdnumber of occurrences of the plurality of temporal actions; andpreparing, by the system, a compacted presentation of the media programbased on the metadata, wherein the compacted presentation comprises therespective popular portions of the media program for which the number ofoccurrences of the plurality of temporal actions initiated by theequipment of the plurality of users exceeds the selectable thresholdnumber of occurrences of the plurality of temporal actions, and whereina length of the compacted presentation is determined based on theselectable threshold.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mediaprogram comprises a video stream.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theequipment of the user of the plurality of users initiates thepresentation of the media program in synchronization with presentationof the media program with other users of the plurality of users, andwherein the method comprises: creating, by the system, a synchronoustemporal action; creating, by the system, a synchronous symbolicoverlay; and combining, by the system, in a single time line thesynchronous presentation of the media program, the synchronous symbolicoverlay, and the synchronous temporal action.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the equipment of the user of the plurality of usersasynchronously initiates the presentation of the media program, andwherein the method comprises: creating, by the system, an asynchronoustemporal action; creating, by the system, an asynchronous symbolicoverlay; and combining, by the system, in a single time line, thepresentation of the media program, the asynchronous symbolic overlay,and the asynchronous temporal action.
 5. The method of claim 1,comprising generating, by the system, the metadata for each temporalaction of the plurality of temporal actions respectively initiated bythe equipment of each user of the plurality of users, wherein thetemporal actions of the plurality of temporal actions are selected froma group consisting of a textual commentary, an audio commentary, anemotional reaction, a gesture, an expression, a sketch, and a vote. 6.The method of claim 5, further comprising selecting, by the system, asymbolic overlay from one of an avatar representation of each respectiveuser of the plurality of users or an image of each respective user ofthe plurality of users, wherein expression of each temporal action ofthe plurality of temporal actions are selected from one of the avatarrepresentation of each respective user of the plurality of users or theimage of each respective user of the plurality of users, wherein thegesture of the avatar corresponds to a motion of a body of the avatar,and wherein the expression of the avatar comprises an expressionselected from a group of expressions consisting of shock, sadness,laughter, excitement, drooling, confusion, anger, and winking.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising associating, by the system, asymbolic overlay with the equipment of each respective user of theplurality of users and wherein the symbolic overlay includes a depictionof the plurality of temporal actions.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe depiction of the plurality of temporal actions comprisesrepresentation by iconic symbols.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein thedepiction of a corresponding symbolic overlay is selectable by theequipment of a user of the plurality of users, and wherein the methodfurther comprises: detecting, by the system, a selection of thedepiction; and presenting, by the system, the temporal action of theuser of the plurality of users associated with the depiction selected.10. The method of claim 1, comprising assigning each user of theplurality of users to a buddy list, and wherein the method comprises:receiving from the equipment of each user of the plurality of users,authentication information; and responsive to validating of theauthentication information, presenting to the equipment of each user ofthe plurality of users that is authenticated, an activity status of aportion of the buddy list.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein theactivity status is selected from a group consisting of an identity of auser from the buddy list, an identity of the media program beingpresented to the user from the buddy list, and a time lapse since thepresentation of the media program was initiated by the user from thebuddy list.
 12. The method of claim 11, comprising: detecting, by thesystem, a selection made by the equipment of the user of the pluralityof users that is from the buddy list; identifying, by the system, oneuser from the buddy list associated with the selection; identifying, bythe system, the media program being presented to the equipment of theuser of the plurality of users that is authenticated, and the time lapsesince the presentation was initiated; and presenting, by the system, tothe equipment of the user of the plurality of users that isauthenticated the media program synchronized to the presentation of themedia program being presented.
 13. The method of claim 1, comprising:detecting, by the system, a pattern of behavior for each user of theplurality of users according to the plurality of temporal actionsinitiated by the equipment of each user; and generating, by the system,a behavioral profile for each user of the plurality of users accordingto each user's detected pattern of behavior.
 14. The method of claim 1,comprising notifying the equipment of the user of the plurality of userswhen the equipment of another user of the plurality of users initiatesthe temporal action.
 15. The method of claim 1, comprising assigning theuser of the plurality of users to a corresponding buddy list, whereinthe buddy list is associated with a corresponding media program.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a proxy server,wherein the media program is streamed to the proxy server from a mediacommunication system, and wherein the media communication system isselected from a group consisting of a social networking portal, aninternet protocol television communication system, a satellitetelevision communication system, and a cable television communicationsystem.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the media program is suppliedby a content provider, and wherein the metadata is inserted by thecontent provider in the media program corresponding to a condition of asymbolic overlay.
 18. The method of claim 17, comprising: retrieving, bythe system, the condition of the symbolic overlay from the mediaprogram; and managing, by the system, the presentation of the pluralityof temporal actions according to the condition of the symbolic overlay.19. The method of claim 18, wherein the condition of the symbolicoverlay is selected from one of a symbolic overlay design, or a policyto manage the presentation of the plurality of temporal actions in thesymbolic overlay.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein a design of thesymbolic overlay is described according to an extensible markuplanguage.
 21. The method of claim 1, comprising presenting to theequipment of each user of the plurality of users a plurality of temporaloccurrences of the plurality of temporal actions initiated by theequipment of the user of the plurality of users.
 22. The method of claim21, comprising: detecting, by the system, a selection by the equipmentof the user of the plurality of users of a corresponding temporaloccurrence of the plurality of temporal occurrences; and presenting tothe equipment of the user making the selection, a portion of the mediaprogram associated with the temporal occurrence.
 23. The method of claim22, comprising compacting, by the system, a presentation length of themedia program, resulting in the compacted presentation of the mediaprogram for presentation by the equipment of the user of the pluralityof users according to the corresponding temporal occurrence of theplurality of temporal occurrences of the plurality of temporal actionsinitiated by the equipment of the user of the plurality of users. 24.The method of claim 23, wherein the preparing of the compactedpresentation of the media program comprises: extracting, by the system,a plurality of the popular portions of the media program, wherein eachpopular portion of the plurality of the popular portions of the mediaprogram is associated with the corresponding temporal occurrence of theplurality of temporal occurrences that exceeds the selectable threshold;and generating, by the system, the compacted presentation of the mediaprogram by concatenating the plurality of the popular portions of themedia program that are extracted by the system.
 25. The method of claim1, comprising presenting, by the equipment of the user of the pluralityof users, the plurality of temporal actions initiated by the equipmentof the user of the plurality of users, responsive to receiving a requestfrom the equipment of said user.
 26. The method of claim 1, comprisingpresenting, by the equipment of the user of the plurality of users, amedia guide, wherein the media guide comprises entries selected from agroup consisting of a list of media programs indicating a frequency ofconsumption by the plurality of users, a list of media programsavailable for presentation, and a rating of the media programs availablefor presentation.
 27. A system, comprising: a memory that storesexecutable instructions; and a controller coupled to the memory, whereinthe controller, responsive to executing the instructions, facilitatesperformance of operations comprising: identifying a media program beingpresented at a first display device of a first user of a plurality ofusers; receiving a request from equipment of a second user of theplurality of users to establish synchronous presentation at a seconddisplay device of the media program being presented at the first displaydevice; recording a plurality of temporal actions initiated by equipmentof the first and the second users of the plurality of users whilesynchronously presenting at the first and second display devices of thefirst and second users of the plurality of users the media program todefine a plurality of collected temporal actions, wherein an audiencecomprises a group of users of the plurality of users who mutually agreeto view the media program being presented synchronously as part of theaudience; preparing a histogram of occurrences of the plurality ofcollected temporal actions recorded during respective portions of themedia program; receiving from the equipment of the first and the secondusers of the plurality of users, a selectable threshold number ofoccurrences collected temporal actions of the plurality of the collectedof temporal actions indicating popular portions of the media program;identifying the respective popular portions of the media program withmetadata for which the number of occurrences of the plurality of thecollected temporal actions exceeds the selectable threshold number ofoccurrences of the plurality of the collected temporal actions; andpreparing a compacted presentation of the media program according to themetadata, wherein the compacted presentation of the media programcomprises the respective popular portions of the media program for whichthe number of occurrences of the plurality of the collected temporalactions initiated by the equipment of the plurality of users exceeds theselectable threshold number of occurrences of the plurality of thecollected temporal actions, wherein a length of the compactedpresentation is determined according to the selectable threshold. 28.The system of claim 27, wherein the media program is selected from agroup consisting of a video stream, an audio stream, and a sequence ofstill images, a sequence of text images, and wherein the controllerperforms operations comprising presenting the media program at theequipment of each user at a corresponding time initiated by each user.29. The system of claim 28, wherein the equipment of a user of theaudience initiates a synchronous presentation of the media program, andwherein the operations further comprise: generating a synchronoustemporal action; generating a synchronous symbolic overlay; andcombining in a single timeline the synchronous presentation of the mediaprogram, the synchronous symbolic overlay, and the synchronous temporalaction.
 30. The system of claim 28, wherein the equipment of a user ofthe audience initiates an asynchronous presentation of the mediaprogram, and wherein the operations further comprise: generating anasynchronous temporal action; generating an asynchronous symbolicoverlay; and combining in a single timeline the asynchronouspresentation of the media program, the asynchronous symbolic overlay,and the asynchronous temporal action.
 31. A machine-readable storagedevice, comprising executable instructions, that when executed by aprocessor, facilitate performance of operations comprising: identifyinga media program being presented at a first display device of a firstuser of a plurality of users; receiving a request from equipment of asecond user of the plurality of users to establish synchronouspresentation at a second display device of the media program beingpresented at the first display device; combining in a single time line apresentation of the media program with a presentation of a plurality oftemporal actions collected solely from the equipment of the first andthe second users of the plurality of users to generate a combinedpresentation of the media program while presenting the media program torespective display devices of the plurality of users, wherein theplurality of temporal actions comprises a bilateral communicationexchange between equipment of multiple users of the plurality of userswho mutually agree to view the media program being presentedsynchronously; preparing a histogram of a collection of occurrences ofthe plurality of temporal actions recorded during respective portions ofthe media program; receiving from the equipment of one of the first orthe second user of the plurality of users, a selectable threshold numberof occurrences of the plurality of the temporal actions indicatingpopular portions of the media program; identifying the respectivepopular portions of the media program with metadata for which the numberof occurrences of the plurality of the temporal actions exceeds theselectable threshold number of occurrences of the plurality of thetemporal actions; and preparing a compacted presentation of the mediaprogram according to the metadata, wherein the compacted presentationcomprises the respective popular portions of the media program for whichthe collection of the number of occurrences of the plurality of thetemporal actions initiated by the equipment of the plurality of usersexceeds the selectable threshold number of occurrences of the pluralityof the temporal actions, wherein a length of the compacted presentationis determined according to the selectable threshold.
 32. Themachine-readable storage device of claim 31, wherein the media programis selected from a group consisting of a video stream, an audio stream,a sequence of still images, and a sequence of text images, and whereinthe operations further comprise presenting the media program to theequipment of each user of the plurality of users at a corresponding timeinitiated by each user of the plurality of users.
 33. Themachine-readable storage device of claim 32, wherein the equipment ofeach user of the plurality of users synchronously initiates thepresentation of the media program, and wherein the operations furthercomprise: generating a synchronous temporal action; generating asynchronous symbolic overlay; and combining in a single timeline thesynchronous presentation of the media program, the synchronous symbolicoverlay, and the synchronous temporal action.
 34. The machine-readablestorage device of claim 32, wherein the equipment of each user of theplurality of users initiates an asynchronous presentation of the mediaprogram, and wherein the operations further comprise: generating anasynchronous temporal action; generating an asynchronous symbolicoverlay; and combining in a single timeline the asynchronouspresentation of the media program, the asynchronous symbolic overlay,and the asynchronous temporal action.